The Perfect Guide To Sumo

Ito Katsuharu (the 34th Kimura Shonosuke)

Translator by David Shapiro

In Japanese and English

Sumo, with over 1,500 years of history, is a religious rite, a part of traditional cultural with a rich esthetic and a truly exciting combative sport. In recent years, thanks to SNS and a variety of new magazines, a whole new category of female sumo fan known as the, “sujo” (literally the, “sumo girls”) has sprung up. Due to the quality of international broadcasts and the number of foreign born rikishi performing at the highest levels, sumo’s international appeal continues to grow.

This bilingual book is the product of a combined effort by the writer, who served as the 34th Kimura Shonosuke, and a translator who is a color commentator on NHK’s bilingual sumo broadcasts. This is the perfect tool to use while talking about sumo in English. It also makes for an excellent souvenir for foreigners.

The explanations based on the author’s long career in sumo are presented in a manner that even a beginner can enjoy. After reading this book we believe that watching sumo will become even more entertaining. And the generous use of traditional woodblock prints will help to give you an even greater sense of sumo’s history. We hope this book will help you get closer to just how interesting sumo is while helping you on the road to becoming a real sumo, “expert”!